


Trust the book, don't trust the people (or was it the other way around?)

by leviathans_moon



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comedy, Fanfiction, Gen, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-02-27 07:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2684705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leviathans_moon/pseuds/leviathans_moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's all Arthur's fault. He suggested this horror book for their weekly book club sessions. Arthur brought it into the house. So it's clearly his fault that things from the book start to happen to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust the book, don't trust the people (or was it the other way around?)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silence_since_silence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silence_since_silence/gifts).



> Huge Thank You to my trusty beta R. 
> 
> Merry Christmas lovely giftee. I hope you enjoy this work of fanfiction. It was lot of fun to write and the prompt was really awesome. It's less horror and more comedy, I suppose. It just sort of developed that way. Mainly because writing scary stuff is hard, and writing dialogue between our lovely Merlin characters is the best thing in the world. 
> 
> Also, thank you to another R for helping me with the plot and the flow of inspiration.

_If there's a house on a hill, it's usually haunted. This particular house on a hill – isn't. It's the one on the other end of the street which has a troublesome past._

 

~~~

  


"Oh come on, that's a great introduction," claimed Arthur, enthusiastically waving the book around.

 

"I don't like horror books," answered Gwen, recoiling slightly.

 

"Oooh, I love them. It's about time we read one." Morgana had in fact been trying to find a good horror book for ages – one that everyone in their small inner-house book club would enjoy.

 

"Fine by me." Gwaine shrugged. As long as they weren't about to read another love story he was okay with it. This didn't sound like it was going to be a love story.

 

"Sounds rather fun, judging by that first sentence and the back cover," agreed Merlin.

 

Arthur immediately poked Merlin in the side. "What did we say? –”

 

"Never trust a back cover!" they all proclaimed at the same time.

 

"Still, sounds like fun," said Merlin, laughing. "Gwen?"

 

"Fine, but if I have nightmares, it's your fault, and your responsibility to do whatever is necessary to help me sleep," she said, looking at the book doubtfully, as if it was a murder weapon and she would be the first victim who has had plenty of foreshadowing to know that it was doomed.

 

Gwaine, entirely unconcerned by Gwen’s fear, leaned forward. "Is that an offer?"

 

"Except for you, Gwaine." Gwen threw a pillow at him.

 

"I'm the only single man here, your choice is limited."

 

"And yet I'd still rather have my two gay best friends help me sleep than let you anywhere near my bedroom." Her eyes glinted at Gwaine, trying to convey annoyance.

 

"You do realise he's living two doors down the hall from your bedroom," said Merlin, smiling widely.

 

"Yes, I knew that," said Gwen, laughing loudly. "Thank you, Merlin."

 

Before anyone else could react, Arthur threw them each a book. "Can we get back to the point and start?"

 

"You've already bought them?" asked Merlin, amused at Arthur's eagerness to read this particular book.

 

"Well, I knew you'd all say yes," said Arthur, grinning at his boyfriend.

 

"With reservations," added Gwen.

 

"Haha, this is awesome," said Morgana, already having read the first page. "Can I start reading this?"

 

"Yeah, sure. First chapter and then we'll talk about our expectations. Sound good?" asked Arthur. Everyone nodded.

  
  
  
  


Everything had begun a few months ago. They all liked to read, that much was obvious right from the moment they moved in together. Rather than having the TV on, each was immersed in a book. Every now and again someone would get up, make a pot of tea or get something to munch on. Sometimes they broke the silence to read out particularly good or funny passages to each other, they'd laugh and immediately go back to their own books.

 

When Gwaine moved in, due to financial and recreational problems he needed to get rid of, he wasn't all that happy about their little evening entertainment arrangement. So he started pestering them about their books, respectively; asking annoying questions about plot, character, motifs. At some point the four of them decided to annoy him and all read the same book at the same time. He ran out of questions quickly, especially when Arthur practically smacked him across the face with his very own edition of the book. It was a horrible book and the evening ended with them cruelly tearing it apart (not literally). It was in fact Gwaine, who suggested they should do this on a regular basis, though he was far from ever admitting that he’d had the most fun that night in a long time.

 

They spent another two nights arguing about the name for their book club, until they settled on "The (K)Nights of Read-a-lot" and a rather pleased Merlin announced their first book to be: Avalon. The following month they spent several long hours arguing about how Merlin got to be the first to pick a book and why it had to be that one. Since then they’ve tried everything to avoid Merlin picking the book of the month, for they knew he'd always pick fantasy novels. He had already threatened them with Song of Ice and Fire and Lord of the Rings. Thus, his very first pick had been his only pick so far. He didn't mind.

 

~~~

  
  


_The candle flickered in a gust of wind weaving its way down the corridor. She shivered and held her hand protectively in front of the flame. Her breathing was unsteady, causing the flame to dance wildly. She cursed silently and moved forward. The floorboards creaked as she neared the stairs. She looked down into the darkness of the ground floor hallway. The dark oak front door loomed before her in the dim candle light as if begging her to come towards it._

_"Hello?" she croaked, her voice broken and timid._

_The floorboards creaked again, although she hadn't moved. She felt a whisper carried towards her, up the stairs, slowly but steadily growing louder every time. Cold breath formed in front of her mouth. She tried to speak, but couldn't. The whisper grew louder and louder, a hissing like a snake._

_One word._

_"Murder. Murder. Murder."_

_She felt it creeping up the stairs, reaching her, gliding down her back. Eyes wide, she didn't dare move. The flame died and something heavy crashed to the floor._

_She screamed._

_The darkness around her was penetrated by light as the inhabitants of the house came rushing out of their rooms._

  


~~~

  


"Okay, it's official, if I have to pee during the night, I'm just going to hold it," said Gwen, once Merlin had read the last sentence of the chapter.

 

"Gwen, you just destroyed the deliciously tense mood." Morgana looked at her angrily. The others laughed at the girls’ silent exchange of challenging gazes. It ended with both of them toasting each other with their glasses of red wine.

 

"Shall we read on, or call it a night?" asked Arthur.

 

"Night," they all agreed, and draining their glasses began with the fight over the two bathrooms. Arthur and Merlin ended up in the big bathroom, which meant that they probably wouldn't get out in under half an hour.

 

Gwaine, as usual, was the one having to wait, as Morgana and Gwen squeezed into the small downstairs bathroom. Morgana sat on the toilet brushing her teeth while Gwen was washing her face with peeling lotion.

 

"Do you really find it that scary?" asked Morgana, a mix between amusement and concern.

 

"Sometimes. I've never been to fond of horror. It's worse when they say something like, this actually happened somewhere. You know these paranormal activity films? Horrible. I saw one once and I couldn't sleep for ages." They switched places as Gwen put her toothbrush in her mouth. Morgana rinsed thoroughly before turning back to Gwen.

 

"If it helps, mi casa es su casa."

 

Gwen smiled. "You might regret that offer."

 

Morgana shook her head, her dark strands falling in waves over her shoulders. "Never."

 

There was a knock on the door, causing Gwen to jump and squeal quietly. "Girls, can you hurry up, my little boys really need some relief." Gwaine's voice was muffled by the door, but the urgency was palpable.

 

"You can jerk off in your room, Gwaine," joked Morgana, as she stepped aside to make room for Gwen again.

 

"Not the relief I meant." He knocked again and Morgana, rolling her eyes, opened the door.

 

"Alright, alright. Are Merlin and Arthur still occupying the big one?"

 

Gwaine nodded. "I'd really like to know what they do in there. Shave each other's balls or what?"

 

"I wouldn't be surprised," laughed Morgana as she and Gwen went up the stairs towards their respective rooms.

 

It was Arthur's house as such. The deeds were in his name, given to him by his mother. It was an inheritance he hadn't originally wanted. It was his birth house, it was her death house. Morgana slept in the bedroom Arthur was born and his mother had died in. Arthur couldn't face it. And he certainly couldn't have faced this house all on his own. Arthur hadn’t even needed to ask Morgana, somehow she could tell that one of these rooms could be hers and that Arthur desperately wanted one of these rooms to actually be hers. Then one by one, the house had filled up.

 

Arthur meeting Merlin was the best thing that had ever happened to him – two months later they were sharing the bedroom just under the roof. Merlin had lived in a horrible shared flat before and was glad to get out of there. Arthur barely had the question out and a loud YES rang through the entire house, telling Morgana it was okay to pop the champagne.

 

Two weeks after Merlin, Gwen stood in their door asking for asylum and Merlin sheepishly admitted that he'd been telling her basically everything about Arthur, Morgana and the huge house they were living in.

 

Gwaine was the cherry on top they hadn't known they needed. The house was big enough, four bedrooms, large kitchen, large living room, a pantry and a garden in the back. But –  it definitely could have done with a third bathroom.

  


 

As she knew would happen, Gwen woke up in the middle of the night, needing to go to the bathroom. Two and a half glasses of red wine were sure to make her need to pee half-way through the night. She had to stop drinking so much.

 

Next Sunday, she wouldn't drink so much, she told herself. That resolution didn't help her in that particular moment, though. She turned on the bedside lamp and crawled out from underneath her very cosy blanket. The floor was cold underneath her feet and she shivered slightly. Carefully, she opened the door. It tended to creak every now and again, but thankfully it stayed silent tonight.

 

The hallway was dark and she thought, not for the first time, that they should buy those nightlights for the hallway. She would feel a lot better if there was more illumination other than the little moonlight that shone in through the window on the far side of the hallway which cast long shadows across the floorboards. Gwen tiptoed across the hall and hurriedly disappeared behind the bathroom door, turning on the light before she shut it completely. She breathed deeply – in, out. The anxiety hadn't helped her bladder which felt like it was about to burst.

 

The light penetrated her sleep-drunken eyes, but she welcomed it. It made her feel safe. She washed her hands, using that soap that had the form of a sheep. Merlin had a knack for finding these things at a flea-market or a random vintage shop. Only when she went to dry her hands on the towel did she hear the creaking. It was a steady rhythm, like the breath of an animal waiting for the most opportune moment to attack. Gwen looked around for something heavy, couldn't find anything and decided to go with Morgana's oversized bottle of hairspray instead. At least she could spray at whatever was causing the creaking. It was echoing in her ears now and she slowly crept towards the door.  

 

"Morgana!" she whispered, but the creaking continued. Sucking in a deep breath, she tore open the door and almost ran into Gwaine. She screamed, and he screamed and a few seconds later all five of them were standing in the hallway, looking at each other.

 

"What are you doing?" asked Merlin, his hair standing on end and his eyes only half-open.

 

"I was peeing and there was creaking and it scared the living daylight out of me, and it was all Gwaine," explained Gwen, hitting Gwaine on the side of his arm.

 

"I heard the creaking too, it was creepy and then Gwen screamed and I'm wide awake now." Morgana glared at Gwaine.

 

"I was waiting for the bathroom to clear. Not my fault you girls are so hypersensitive." Indeed, Gwaine didn't look very sorry for what happened.

 

"You did that on purpose to scare me," said Gwen accusingly.

 

Gwaine's expression changed. "No, I didn't. I swear. I wasn't really aware of the creaking, otherwise I would have stopped."

 

"How can you-"

 

"Guys, let's not fight please and just go back to bed." Arthur's voice rang loud and clear through the hallway, and before the others could say anything he was dragging Merlin back up the small set of stairs to their room.

 

Gwen hit Gwaine on the arm again for good measure. She didn't care whether or not he'd done it on purpose.

 

"We need to get nightlights for the hallway. I'm buying some tomorrow," said Gwen. Morgana nodded in agreement.

 

"They're a waste of money and electricity," said Gwaine before shutting the bathroom door.

 

"I don't care," yelled Gwen, receiving no answer whatsoever. She turned to Morgana. "Can I sleep in your room?"

 

Morgana simply opened her door wide and let Gwen go in first.

  


~~~

  


_He stepped close to her, his mouldy breath on her pale skin. "There have been murders here, not so long ago," he whispered in a raspy voice. She hated this man and wished she could find a way to excuse herself from him._

_"Three children and the wife, killed by the father in the mansion on the hill."_

_"In the mansion?" she asked timidly, against her better judgement._

_"Oh yes." He came even closer and she could smell the rankness that surrounded him. "Slashed his family, cut them into pieces. He was hunted down the street and killed in this house, this very room. Punished for his crimes. They burnt his body in the market place on September 1st. Did you hear the screams? He screams during that night. Every year. You heard the screams!"_

_His hands had crawled up her arms and clutched her shoulders violently. She tried to pull away, but he held on tighter._

_"He murdered his family and he isn't done murdering. He's killed again."_

_"But..but he's dead," she whispered, terrified and disgusted. She twisted, trying to escape the strong and dirty hands._

_"He's killing again. And you're in the house he was murdered in." He gripped tighter and tighter, drawing sobs out of her trembling body._

_"Let me go. Please let me go."_

_"LET HER GO!"_

  


~~~

  


"I'm calling it, the scary dude with the rank breath is the actual killer," said Gwaine.

 

"Too predictable. Scary dude with rank breath? It's like the author isn't even _trying_ to fool us." Merlin looked up from his book, which was already half torn apart, donkey ears on every second page and notes scribbled in pencil in all the margins. When he got into books, he really got into them. Arthur had always been fascinated how much Merlin could find in just one sentence. As a doctor of English literature on his way to the title of Professor, it wasn't surprising though. He sometimes asked Merlin whether he was bored with the banal books they were reading in their book club, Merlin always denied it with that bright smile of his. Arthur was sure he was lying.

 

"So who do you think it is, genius?" asked Morgana.

 

"The sergeant. I'm guessing there's a hidden connection to the murdered family, and also to the main character, which is why he doesn't touch her, although he's had several chances," said Merlin, matter-of-factly. The others looked doubtful.

 

"Maybe it actually is like a ghost killing because of unsolved business?" suggested Arthur. "Perhaps the father didn't actually kill his family, but was killed by the other guys in the village, because they thought he had and now he seeks revenge."

 

"That would probably also go under the tag of 'predictable'." Morgana looked pointedly at Merlin.

 

"And boring, don't you think?" he asked. There was a round of shrugging of shoulders, but no further comment. Merlin skipped a few pages under the scrutinizing eyes of his boyfriend. Skipping pages was theoretically against the rules, in case someone blurted out any spoilers. Merlin never complied to these rules, but then again, he never blurted out any spoilers.

 

"I'd say night." Gwaine yawned halfway through the sentence.

 

"There is no knight," answered Gwen, confused.

 

"No, night, as in ‘call it a night’, no k. Seriously, I'm really tired. And apparently so are you."

 

"Sorry, but you just went in the complete other direction of the conversation we were currently having. I couldn't quite follow. And I've had too much wine again."

 

Merlin laughed. "You always say that Gwen."

 

"And I always mean it, and then I always forget again the next Sunday."

 

"Then how about we don't buy wine next Sunday?" suggested Arthur. The short seconds of silence were broken by loud laughter. No wine was a ridiculous idea.

 

"Cheers," said Merlin, toasting to them. He almost dropped his glass as the scream rang through the house. Gwen jumped in her armchair and Gwaine actually stood up.

 

"What the hell was that?"

 

"Oh my God."

 

"This is one of you," said Morgana loudly, looking around angrily.

 

They all shook their heads, panic in their eyes. Again they heard the unearthly scream. Gwen screamed as well and this time the other four of them stood up, while Gwen continued to cower in her chair.

 

"Okay, seriously this is not funny, guys. Gwaine!"

 

"It's not me. I'm right here, how can that scream be me?"

 

"I don't know, you did something." Gwen's voice grew higher with every accusation.

 

"I didn't do anything."

 

"Guys," said Merlin, slowly laying his book on the table. "It's September 1st."

 

"Are you kidding me?" asked Arthur, eyes wide.

 

"No, it actually is September 1st."

 

"No, I mean – SHIT!" The third scream had been louder than before and Arthur hit his leg on the coffee table.

 

"Okay, okay." Gwaine tried to squeeze past Morgana and they almost tumbled into the armchair she'd been sitting in. "Girls, you stay here and we..are..going to check this out?"

 

"Right, yes, of course. We're checking out incredibly creepy screaming coming from the back of the house."  Arthur looked nowhere near wanting to check this out.

 

MURDER!

 

"OHMYGOD! Morgana I'm sleeping in your room again."

 

"Morgana, I'm sleeping in your room, too," added Merlin quickly.

 

"What?" Arthur looked at Merlin a little hurt.

 

"You can come too, Arthur," said Morgana, who seemed more than happy to have as much company as possible for the night.

 

"Okay, calm down guys. Arthur, come on." Gwaine grabbed Arthur's arm and dragged him along the corridor.

 

"Arthur, walk behind Gwaine. Just in case," said Merlin quickly, following only up to the door leading out onto the hallway. Morgana and Gwen pressed themselves against Merlin and the door frame and glanced out into the corridor as Gwaine and Arthur slowly inched forward.

 

"Thanks, Merlin."

 

"It's not that I don't like you, Gwaine. But I like Arthur a little more."

 

"You only like him more because he sleeps with you." Arthur and Gwaine were grappling for the first and second spot in their check-out mission as he said it, arms almost around each other.

 

"And he makes brilliant blueberry pancakes for breakfast."

 

Arthur swung around. "I knew you only like me for- AAAH!" Arthur’s eyes grew wide and he gripped Gwaine’s shoulder. Gwaine almost fell over Arthur when he stepped back out of shock. A new kind of scream had rattled them.

 

"Okay, tell me that was a fox,” demanded Gwaine. “That was a bloody fox, right?"

 

"Yes, yes, YES, yeah, fox." Arthur cleared his throat. "That was a fox. When it sounds a like scream of a dying woman, it's a fox."

 

"Or a dying woman."

 

"Gwaine, not helping. Turn on the light in the kitchen." Arthur shoved him forward.

 

"Why me?"

 

"'Cause you're closer to the door?" said Arthur with a sly grin.

 

"Dude-"

 

"Do it."

 

Gwaine groaned and unwillingly reached out. Carefully, he pushed the door open, his other hand slithering along the door frame. He felt for the switch, his fingers making echoing sounds on the tiled wall. Finally, he found and turned it and the kitchen fell into a cold light. It was empty.

 

"Maybe it's a ghost," whispered Gwen from behind them, making Arthur and Gwaine jump. Merlin and the girls had moved forward into the hallway on tiptoes.

 

"Holy shit, Gwen."

 

"Sorry, sorry, I'm sorry."

 

They stood in procession now, as if waiting to be called in for something. Gwaine, Arthur, Morgana, Merlin and Gwen.

 

"Check the pantry," suggested Merlin.

 

"Okay, but you check upstairs," said Gwaine angrily. Why was he the one to check everything?

 

Morgana and Merlin pulled Gwen behind them, slowly tugging her upstairs.

 

"I was against that book right from the start," she whimpered.

 

"I'm still saying it's Gwaine who's doing this," said Morgana loudly.

 

"I'm not. I'm as fucking terrified as you are," he yelled upstairs.

 

Arthur laughed. "Whatever ghost was here just now has probably escaped this nuthouse by now."

 

Gwaine moved towards the pantry, while Arthur, seemingly relaxed now, went to the fridge. "Who ate last night's dinner leftovers?"

 

"Oh, sorry, I did. Pantry's clear. There's nothing here."

 

Another loud scream had them both clambering up the stairs. Morgana and Merlin were pressed against the wall opposite the bathroom and Gwen was nowhere to be seen.

 

"What is it?"

 

"Where's Gwen?"

 

Just as Arthur said it, she came out of the bathroom, her hand closed into a fist. "It's a spider, it's just a tiny spider."

 

"As big as a quid, that's not tiny," proclaimed Morgana, edging away from Gwen's outstretched fist. Gwen rolled her eyes and walked over to the hallway window to return the spider to freedom and fresh air.

 

"So, no ghost?" asked Gwaine.

 

Gwen closed the window with a loud bang. It stuck sometimes and wouldn't close properly unless when using blunt force. "No ghost. And I'm going to bed. Morgana's bed."

 

"Good idea. Arthur, you grab the pillows, I’ll get the blankets," said Merlin, taking Arthur's hand.

 

"You really want to sleep in Morgana's room?" asked Gwaine.

 

"Yes, it's Morgana, why not?"

 

"Because a) it's not the biggest room and b) sorry for being insensitive, but Arthur's mum died in there."

 

They all stopped in their tracks and looked at Gwaine. He cowered slightly, fearing the probably violent repercussions of that comment. Morgana was the first to turn to a dumbfounded Arthur.

"He's got a very insensitive, but also very good point. And your and Merlin's room is bigger."

 

"Okay, Arthur, you grab Gwen's stuff, I grab Morgana's and Gwaine can get his own," ordered Merlin, making sure to squeeze Arthur's hand once before letting go. "Assemble under the roof."

  
  


 

It took half an hour for them all to wash, brush teeth and settle into the pile of blankets and pillows strewn over the now tiny seeming mattress that usually only Merlin and Arthur shared.

 

"Morgana, is that your knee? The one near my balls?" asked Arthur, while they all adjusted their positions.

 

"Could be. Do you want me to test it and find out?"

 

"I'd rather you not."

 

"God, it's getting really warm underneath here,” moaned Gwaine, throwing parts of his blanket on top of Morgana.

 

"I like it. This is cosy,” said Merlin, who was anything but averse to cuddling. The same, unfortunately, couldn't be said about Arthur, who had to be forced on a regular basis to open his arms and allow Merlin to enter his personal space just before falling asleep. Merlin never woke up in Arthur's arms and he assumed that Arthur stayed awake long enough for Merlin to fall asleep, so that he could be shoved to the other side of the bed without any complaints. Secretly he wished he could wake up in Arthur's arms once in his life, but it never seemed like he was going to get that wish – until tonight. They were squeezed so tightly onto the king size mattress that Arthur had no choice but to let Merlin sleep half on top of him. Gwen was pressed up against Merlin, who relished in the general cuddliness that this night promised to be. Morgana and Gwaine filled Arthur's usual half of the bed. The rustling coming from that end told Merlin that they were still trying to adjust their positions. He thought he heard a small whimpering noise from Gwaine and a quick sorry from Morgana. Then silence – or at least the silence that five breaths coming out of five mouths in an overall irregular rhythm can give. It lasted for about a minute.

 

"Okay, theories?"

 

"No, please, let's not talk about any theories about ghosts," begged Gwen.

 

"It's weird, though. I mean, this is.. this is really weird," said Merlin and received a general murmur of agreement.

 

"Let's think about this rationally –" began Arthur.

 

"Us reading the book awoke a spirit from the book and now it's haunting our house," interrupted Gwaine with a rather not-so-rational answer.

 

Arthur groaned.

 

"Or the fox that was a fox wasn't actually a fox, but the screams of Arthur's dead mother and the screams of the guy are just a random ghost that awoke with her, I don't know."

 

"Except my mother wouldn't be a vengeful spirit because she wasn't murdered."

 

"Well, technically – "

 

"Don't even fucking go there, Gwaine," said Merlin in an unusually aggressive way. They all gave in to silence once more.

 

"Seriously, though, are ghosts real?" asked Morgana carefully five minutes later.

 

Happily engulfed in his warm cocoon of blankets and Arthur's arms, Merlin had almost drifted off. Judging by the involuntary spasm in Arthur's arm, so had Arthur.

 

"Lots of stories all over the world say they are." Merlin lifted his head to look at Morgana across Arthur's chest. "I'm mean you have the legends, but you also have stories of strange things happening to people and camera footage with strange silhouettes that could be considered the residue of a life. For a lot of people that's enough proof."

 

Gwen sat up, allowing the colder air to creep under the blanket. Merlin shivered and tried to adjust the covers. "But we're not simply talking about ghosts here, are we? This is straight out of the book. The screams on September 1st, the crying of murder. And if Gwaine swears it wasn't him, then who or what was it?"

 

"It wasn’t me," said Gwaine pointedly, annoyance shining through.

 

"Perhaps we should just see what happens, and preferably sleep now." Arthur's voice was low and raspy, a sure sign that he was on the best way to falling asleep. Merlin agreed with him.

 

"Should we stop reading the book?" asked Morgana.

 

"God yes, definitely," said Gwen, looking rather accusingly at the other four lying down as if they didn't take this seriously enough.

 

"That would mean risking the Jumanji effect," came Gwaine's voice from his sideways position on the bed.

 

"The what?" the other four said in unison. Gwaine turned around and now sat up as well.

 

"Jumanji, the film. You know, the kid doesn't finish the game and he gets stuck in the jungle for 25 years, but when eventually he does finish it, it all goes back to normal. And whatever this is, I say we better finish the book and hopefully it will just go away."

 

"Okay, but then let's finish the book quickly. I'm not sure I can deal with a whole week full of screams of murder," said Gwen.

 

"I'm not sure I can deal with a whole of all of you sleeping in my bed," said Arthur grumpily.

 

"Our bed."

 

"Sorry, Merls, our bed. And now shut up and go to sleep, I want to be at least half awake at work tomorrow."

 

Gwen and Gwaine sank back into the down blankets, Gwen scooting as close as possible to Merlin. He sighed heavily, wistfully placing his hands on Arthur's chest for a few seconds, before turning around and drawing Gwen into his arms.

 

She quietly promised to make him some apple pie the next day.

  


~~~

  


_She couldn't light the candle. She pulled out match after match, but each broke or wouldn't light. Something was rustling behind her. She thought she'd felt someone – something – move past her. It was more than a gust of wind on her skin, more than the idea of a touch. She could hardly breathe. Hands shaking, she tried another match, and another. A scratching sound came from the left, like a knife on wood. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she thought she could hear them landing on her arms, like angels abandoning her, leaving her in this horrible place. A match finally struck and after a few fearful seconds she managed to light the candle. The flame doused the room in a dark orange light. She turned around quickly, almost extinguishing the light again and wildly searched for a sign of any person. The room was empty._

_On the wall to her left however, three words were written; etched into the wall. A liquid was dripping out of the deep incisions, slowly crawling down the wall. She stepped closer and held out the candle._

_Gasping, she almost dropped  it._

_YOU OWE ME._

_It was written in blood._

  


~~~

  


The apple pie – or what was left of it – sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by three bottles of wine, all supplied by Gwen. She'd said that if they were going to continue reading this book she needed to have alcohol for that. When Merlin mentioned the point of her needing to go to the toilet too often after having drunk alcohol, she simply pointed towards the apple pie – and Merlin knew he'd happily sell himself out simply for escorting her to the bathroom during the night. Apple pie was the best.

 

They were now halfway through the book, and every sound made them jump. After the first fifteen minutes of that, Morgana had stood up and turned on the stereo. It was just some mellow classical music, but it helped soothe the nerves and cover up any outside sounds that might freak them out.

 

"What a strange thing to write on the wall?" thought Morgana out loud.

 

"Yeah, it's weird. It's such a classic example of horror that you'd expect something like 'Death' or 'I will kill you'," agreed Merlin. In all the excitement with the potential ghost and the potential huge amount of apple pies he'd completely forgotten to make his usual notes and donkey ears. The last 62 pages were absolutely blemish-free.

 

"Perhaps it's a parody on capitalism?" suggested Gwaine.

 

"Nothing we've read so far really points to that."

 

"Just an idea," Gwaine shrugged. He put the book down and unfolded himself from his armchair. "Anybody want anything from the kitchen?"

 

"You're not eating the leftovers again!" said Arthur.

 

"What are leftovers for?"

 

"A second full dinner tomorrow night."

 

"Seriously?"

 

"Yes, I need those leftovers for tomorrow. Don't eat them."

 

Gwaine shook his head disbelievingly, while Gwen giggled at Arthur's stern look. He hated it when Gwaine ate all the leftovers without sharing with the rest of the house.

 

"Fine, I'll get a bloody banana or something."

 

"Bring some chocolate, would you? The good stuff, not Arthur's crap," Morgana demanded as she pulled her legs in to give Gwaine room. Gwaine decided to go the long way round. He always got tangled in her long legs, no matter how far she pulled them in.

 

"My chocolate is not crap," said Arthur indignantly.

 

"It's the Hershey's of crap."

 

The lights went out, turning the room completely dark. Gwen screamed. Morgana screamed. Arthur screamed. Merlin cursed and judging by the loud thud, Gwaine had hit the floor – hard.

 

"GWAINE?"

 

"Gwaine, say something."

 

"Gwaine!"

 

"Shh, guys. Listen."

 

"I'm not sure I want to."

 

Merlin was right, there was a strange sound. A rustling at first, not the rustling of clothes, but rather the rustling of leaves, which could only mean that someone was pushing against the overlarge fern standing in the left corner of the living room. Then the rustling stopped and Gwen heard a wet sound and squeaking.

 

"Oh god, turn on the light, guys turn on the light. There's something by the TV." Gwen's chair was closest to the TV, so she'd heard things that the others hadn't, they were so quiet. She stumbled sideways, away from the TV and almost fell. "Ow. What? Gwaine?"

 

"Gwaine's out, Arthur turn on the damn light," yelled Morgana.

 

"It's not working," yelled Arthur back, flipping the switch on and off again. "The power is completely out."

 

"Where are the matches?" asked Merlin, standing up on the couch, his back against the wall, as if that would keep him safe.

 

"Kitchen," whispered Gwen. "What in the hell- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

 

The power came back, turning not just the light back on, but also the TV. There was no picture, just snow and white noise. Written on the TV screen and eerily highlighted by the white and black dots were three words.

 

YOU OWE ME.

 

Merlin slid down the wall onto the couch, crouching with his legs folded up. Arthur was still standing rather dumbfounded by the light switch. Morgana and Gwen were clinging to each other. And Gwaine – Gwaine was lying on the floor unconscious. It took 2.3 seconds for them to register that fact.

 

"Holy shit, Gwaine!"

 

All four of them rushed towards him, but it was Gwen who brushed his hair away and saw the huge bump on his forehead. At the touch of her fingers, he slowly stirred. Brow furrowing, he opened his eyes and tried to get a focus on his surroundings. Gwen was checking his pupils before his eyelids were even fully open and Arthur rushed away to the kitchen to get some frozen peas or spinach or whatever was in the freezer. He only knew that they didn't have steak. He found frozen Brussel Sprouts.

 

Gwaine was sitting on the edge of Morgana's armchair, holding his head and gratefully accepted the bag of cold vegetables. The message on the TV was forgotten for a moment.

 

"We should take him to the hospital," suggested Gwen.

 

"I'm fine."

 

"You fell and hit your head and were unconscious, for probably a minute or more. We're taking you to a hospital," said Morgana in her usual work tone of I-don't-care-what-you-think-I'm-right-anyway'. Co-workers had huge respect for her. Anyone working below her was downright terrified whenever she entered the building. She was the devil who thought Prada was absolutely beneath her. That, in fact, she was a really likeable and socially absolutely dependable person who'd probably kill for you if she liked you, was only known to a select few. A total of eight select few, four of which she was living with.

 

Arthur and Merlin hoisted Gwaine up and helped him towards the car. It was a relatively warm September night and they didn't waste time with jackets. They didn't waste time getting out of the house.

 

 

 

Car rides with at least four of them in the car, let alone five, were pre-programmed to be entirely disastrous. It started with 'ugh, let's change the channel, I hate that song' and normally ended with a general discussion about which music style is the best or in very severe cases, as has happened twice before, with discussions about whether there's a point to life or not. The second one of those severe cases had reduced Morgana into tears, which was a bit of a warning sign that perhaps they shouldn't all ride in the same car together. So Arthur had bought a second one.

 

That night, however, they squeezed into one, the radio stayed off right from the start and the first 5 kilometres went by without a single word being uttered. Gwen and Merlin kept throwing glances at Gwaine from either side of him. Morgana looked thoughtfully out of the window. Arthur was driving, faster than he usually would, but he thought it was justified, considering the circumstances.

 

"We need to keep reading that book," said Morgana quietly. The three on the backseat didn't register it.

 

"Yeah, Jumanji effect, I know," said Arthur, glancing at his half-sister.

 

"No, I want to know what it means and what the bloody connection to the book is," said Morgana.

 

"So do I," agreed Merlin, who was now listening to the conversation happening between the siblings.

 

"You don't think it's Gwaine then?" Arthur glanced at the backseat. Gwaine's head was leaning back, eyes closed. The huge bump on the head was discernible even in the darkness.

 

"Unless he found a way to turn off the lights, fall over from his chair within a split second of doing so, lying on the ground so that Gwen could trip over him and simultaneously writing 'you owe me' on the TV in red colour, without smearing his fingers or leaving blotches giving him away and also turning on the TV so that it would come up static when turning the lights back on while still lying on the ground with a huge fucking bruise on his forehead at the moment that lights come back on."

 

Arthur paused for a second. "Yeah, pretty fucking unlikely."

 

"Or else some genius master plan to scare the living shit out of us and huge bloody effort that he could have put into something else," said Morgana, slightly agitated. "No, I don't think it's Gwaine anymore. And unfortunately, he's got an injury to prove it."

 

"Which leaves the question," said Merlin, "what the fuck is going on?"

 

"Exactly. Which is why we need to finish the book," said Morgana. "And which is why I brought it." She pulled the book from under her right thigh.

 

"No bloody way, not in the car," said Arthur, taking the book from her and giving it to Merlin.

 

"Oh, you'd rather do it in the house where we've already had two separate incidents of ... ghostly occurrence."

 

"Point," said Merlin, leaning to the right so Arthur could see his eyes.

 

"Yeah, but what if that ghost thing whatever travels with the book, what do you think is going to happen to us in this not so big car. This car isn't made for five people, let alone for five people and a ghost."

 

"Let's wait till we're in the hospital. Lots of people around, and we're going to be in there in two minutes anyway," suggested Gwen. She thought that they were all correct. They needed to finish the book, no matter how little she liked that thought, and they should neither do it in the house nor in the car.

 

"Plus, CCTV. I think the hospital is a great idea." Arthur took a turn and the large red and yellow building appeared. They all knew this place better than they liked, having had their share of tragedy, death and involuntary mishaps. The mishaps were mostly Gwaine's, while drunk.

 

"What if we need five people to read it? Like we started something with the five of us reading it, perhaps the five of us also have to finish it." Gwaine slowly adjusted his head to the normal position, blinking once or twice as if in pain. He saw Morgana’s eyes narrow and was sure that she was seething on the inside and he felt a surge of affection. Hurting one of her best friends, that was just not acceptable for Morgana and Gwaine almost smiled.

 

"We'll wait till you're done with your tests, and we'll stay with you the whole night. If you've got a concussion, like I think you do, you need to stay awake all night long anyway."

 

"Morgana, they're going to kick you out at some point," said Gwaine.

 

"Not if we ask someone very nicely if we can stay, and with someone I mean Lance. Or Leon."

 

"Or Percival," added Merlin.

 

"Ooh, you're on good terms with Percival now?" asked Morgana.

 

"Yeah, after I fell from that second floor window and broke my ankle we kind of got talking. He's a cool guy."

 

"Sweet. I think he's in charge of the medication cabinet."

 

"Gwaine," said Merlin in a stern voice and with raised eyebrows.

 

"I'm not saying I'm going to abuse that knowledge ... friendship...whatever. I'm saying that my head is pounding and I'm thinking that it's probably good that he likes us."

 

Merlin laughed. "Well, he likes me. I'm not sure what he thinks about you."

 

"How much does he like you?" asked Arthur, but he never received an answer. He'd just pulled up in front of the main doors and everybody except for him was getting out. He was ordered to park the car somewhere not in the way, while the other three dragged Gwaine into the lobby.

 

Gwen almost immediately spotted Lance walking through a set of double-doors.

 

"Hey guys, long time no see." His sarcastic tone wasn't missed by any of them. They knew very well how often they were inside this hospital. NHS was losing a lot of money with them that they could probably never compensate no matter how extraordinarily large their pay-checks were – all five combined. "I haven't seen you this month yet, and it's already September 2nd."

 

"We were incredibly careful yesterday."

 

"Good to hear," said Lance, smiling and shaking his head at the same time. "And what brings you in today?"

 

"Concussion, we think. Gwaine fell, tripped, I don't know. It was dark," informed Merlin, turning Gwaine slightly so the bump was immediately visible.

 

"I suppose you guys have lamps and stuff. Turn them on."

 

Gwen laughed, a little too loudly considering how relatively lame the joke was. Morgana and Merlin frowned at her.

 

"That wasn't really an option at the time," said Merlin. "We had a bit of a...uhm, black-out."

 

Lance raised an eyebrow, but didn't receive an answer. He turned away to get a wheelchair for Gwaine and then rolled him through the double-doors, followed by the entourage. While Gwaine was wheeled into the examination room, they sat down in the waiting area and skimmed through the new magazines and newspapers lying about.

 

"Guys, they have a new vending machine,” said Arthur, as he arrived a few minutes later. He pointed around the corner where, next to the coffee and cold drinks machines, there now was a snack machine.

 

"Oooh, nice. Get me some M&M's, would you?" Morgana gave her brother a pointed look and returned to the magazine. He told himself that he would have said no if he hadn't wanted something himself.

 

Half-way through the large bag of M&M's, which Morgana and Arthur passed back and forth across Merlin's lap, Merlin got up to get coffees. He was the kind of person who hated crunchy things. Floppy bread – brilliant; mashed potatoes – perfect; juicy meat without any kind of crunchy, crispy crust – heaven; people chewing and biting crunchy, crispy things – hell, particularly if these people were sitting either side of him. Gwen followed, at first only watching as Merlin dug up some loose coins from his pockets. He pushed a quid into the slot and pressed the button for sugared coffee.

 

"Are you okay?" Merlin only drank sugared coffee when things were really stressful and he was starting to slightly freak out. She never knew how a huge supply of sugar and caffeine was supposed to help him not freak out, but that's what he did.

 

"You want some?" he asked, deflecting the question. Gwen nodded and waited patiently. Merlin fed the 50p change to the machine again and pressed Cappuccino – Gwen's favourite caffeinated beverage.

 

Only when she had her fingers wrapped around the hot cup and Merlin had leaned against the wall, did he look at her with his serious and intelligent eyes.

 

"I'm starting to think it's not Gwaine who's doing this."

 

"I think it's pretty obvious it's not him. Does that mean even you are now contemplating the fact that we're actually being haunted? You, the rational one?Is it one of your moments of emotion trumps brain. You haven't had those in a while. Like you used to." Gwen nudged him, trying to get him to smile at memories from Uni. She didn't like the idea of a real ghost even less than he, had been afraid of having these thoughts right from the start as they began to creep further and further into her head with every unexplainable circumstance. That was exactly why she hated horror books, she couldn't keep from thinking about the unnerving possibilities these books proclaimed.

 

"No, I never thought that. I was just playing along."

 

"So?"

 

"Arthur and Morgana."

 

"Why them and not Gwaine? Gwaine's the trickster, who plays all the pranks."

 

Merlin nodded. "I know and I thought it was him until we got into the car. Even at the house I still thought it was him, despite the concussion. Trying to divert suspicion, you know. But then the talk in the car and the fact that they're completely unfazed now. I mean, look at them."

 

Arthur and Morgana were trading M&M's back and forth as if they were at home in their living room on another normal day.

 

"Arthur suggested the book," said Gwen. She was confused and starting to feel angry.

 

"Yeah. I wish it were Gwaine, because that would mean this concussion is either fake or he did it to himself. I don't mind a little prank, we're laughing about it afterwards; always. But this? This is not a prank anymore and if I find out that it really was Arthur and Morgana and they still kept it going even after Gwaine got hurt, Arthur and I are going to have the biggest fucking fight in our entire relationship."

 

Their biggest fight so far had been about whether or not they should let Gwaine live with them. It had lasted about ten minutes and ended with Gwaine munching on some chocolate cake from Merlin's mum and Merlin and Arthur sneaking off to have make-up sex. Once every few weeks there was some person commenting on how perfect a couple they were and that they must be soul-mates. So far Gwen hadn't seen anything that would speak against that. She'd also never seen Merlin look so angry when talking about Arthur.

 

She lowered her voice and stared at him pointedly. "Listen, don't go accusing him of anything without really knowing. In the end, it wasn't him. Perhaps it's just Morgana, perhaps it is Gwaine. Perhaps it really is a ghost. We can't deny the possibility that something might go beyond our natural understanding."

 

"Gwen, it's not a ghost. Trust me, not a ghost."

 

Gwen frowned at his tone of voice, but didn't get to question it. Lance walked up to them, Gwaine's rather thick file in his arms and a not so amused expression on his face. "I seriously don't know how you guys do this over and over again. Half the students doing their practical training in this hospital know your medical histories by heart, because we have so many examples of all kinds of diseases and injuries just from you five people to keep them busy for two years. All they do is refer back to your case files when something similar comes through the doors. 'Oh yes, I read about this Emrys' file' or 'Mr Pendragon showed these symptoms, it could be this and that'. I feel like I should invite you to my wedding, should I ever get married – to a girlfriend I don't have yet. Anyway, what hasn't been in any of your folders yet, which is a bit of a surprise, to be honest, is a concussion. Congratulations, you've extended the study files for the students."

 

Gwen and Merlin high-fived each other.

 

"And you're happy about it. Of course, you're happy about it. I shouldn't be surprised," said Lance, rolling his eyes.

 

Gwen laughed. "Seriously Lance, it's not like we live outrageously dangerous lives or that we have perilous jobs or something like that. It just all sort of happens. It's like the measles case. We're all vaccinated, we actually have documentations of our vaccines, and yet, one of us got it and all the others got it too," said Gwen, patting Lance lightly on the shoulder.

 

"Well, that one certainly didn't make sense. Maybe you guys are cursed."

 

"Or," said Merlin. "Perhaps we just like to visit you, and Leon. And Percival. I like Percival. Who dug him up?"

 

"I did. He had really good credentials, great guy. Anyway, Gwaine's in the usual room, you can go in if you want. Keep him awake. I gave him something to help, but if you can keep him entertained, that would be a great help. He shouldn't sleep for the next 8 hours."

 

"We got a book to finish. Arthur! Morgana! Gwaine needs us."

  
  
  
  


Their usual room was number 325. Technically, it was a double room, but if the hospital staff could avoid it they didn't put anybody else in with them. Over time it had become their room, each of them buying small items to decorate and make it more homely. Merlin had even started building up a small library, a row of books lining the low and wide window sill.

 

As they entered Gwaine was watching TV, but he switched off immediately. The top end of the bed was raised so that he could lie comfortably with his head pushed against the pillows and still talk to them. "We have eight hours to kill and a book to finish. Let's just get this over with."

 

Arthur pushed the second bed a little closer to Gwaine's and jumped onto it, stretching out his feet. Normally, that was all the invitation that Merlin needed to join him there and cuddle a little while talking. This time, however, he ignored it and sat down in a chair, playing with his shirt sleeves and avoiding to look at Arthur.

 

"Merlin, do you mind?" asked Morgana, and Merlin had to look up. She was pointing at Arthur's side, indicating that she'd like to lay down.

 

"No, go ahead. I feel like sitting today." Arthur looked at his boyfriend questioningly, but Merlin simply shook his head.

 

"Okay, Morgana, start reading," commanded Gwaine. "Get this shit over with."

 

Morgana turned on the little bedside lamp. The cold light startled them all and they needed a minute to adjust. Then Morgana opened the right page and began reading out loud.

  
  


"Gwaine, don't fall asleep." Throughout the chapters, Gwen and Merlin had gradually moved their chairs closer to Gwaine's bed, as to shake him every now and again. By the looks of it, Arthur had given up staying awake some time ago and Morgana was probably only still awake because she was reading out loud, a task she wasn't willing to give up. Merlin had known it would have been a bad idea to lay down outstretched.

 

Every now and again, Lance or Leon had come in to check on Gwaine and his stats. They led a bit of small-talk, but disappeared again after a few minutes. At around midnight Percival came pounding in, giving them all leftover pudding from the dinners that day. It was sugary wobbly stuff that was supposed to taste like chocolate and tasted more like cardboard, but it gave them a bit of a boost. Gwaine swore that Percival must have mixed drugs into that pudding because he felt much more awake than before. It quickly wore off, whatever it was, but Percival was now and forever going to be the drug person of the hospital and probably Gwaine's number one go-to person for pretty much anything, be it recipes for casserole, to have a good poker game or get some advice on how to get high without getting high - something Gwaine had been trying to figure out ever since that disastrous night two years ago.

 

"Yes, yes, I'm awake." Gwaine had his twice as hard as the others. Merlin had the habit to shake his head back and forth for a second to rattle his brain awake again. Gwaine wasn't allowed to move much -not the ideal circumstances for staying awake all night long.

 

"The same can't be said about Arthur." Morgana was poking him in the shoulder, but Arthur didn't stir.

 

"Don't waste your time. I probably couldn't even wake him up with a blowjob right now," said Merlin.

 

"Loser." Gwaine groaned. "God, what fucking time is it? Ugh, I want to sleep."

 

Gwen yawned loudly and stretched her arms towards the ceiling. "Gosh, I'm starting to wish something ghost-like would happen, just to rattle us all properly awake again."

 

"Don't jinx it." Gwaine poured himself a glass of water.

 

"Nothing's going to happen here," said Merlin.

 

"Does it only work in the house, then?" asked Gwen.

 

"That would lead to two questions: a)Is it even ghost? and b) If it is a ghost, then what is it really attached to?" said Merlin matter-of-factly.

 

"What do you mean?" Gwaine sat up slightly. He blinked rapidly once or twice before fixing his gaze on Merlin. In contrast, Merlin was staring at Morgana and Arthur to such an extent that Morgana was beginning to look confused.

 

"Well, ghost lore is that they're attached to a certain object. If it were the book, it could have travelled with us and would be here."

 

"Except, I only brought one. Maybe I brought the wrong one," contradicted Morgana.

 

"Maybe."

 

"Okay, what the fuck is going on here?" asked Gwaine, having noticed the slightly hostile looks coming from Merlin.

 

"I'd like to know that, too," said Morgana.

 

"Nothing." Merlin looked away and played with the outer lining of the hospital bed sheets.

 

"You're looking at me as if I'm possessed."

 

Merlin raised his eyes again. "Are you?"

 

"NO! Of course not."

 

"Would you know, though?" asked Gwen. She nudged Merlin with the foot to make him stop glaring. "Or would it just happen without you realising?"

 

"Yes, I think so."

 

"Good question, though. Would you really notice-"

 

Gwaine's sentence was interrupted by flickering lights and cracking electricity. "So much for that discussion."

 

Morgana swung her legs out of the bed and sat at the edge; body tense. "Has that ever happened before here?"

 

"No." Merlin stood up from his chair, taking a step towards the lamp in the ceiling. It was still flickering strongly, as did the emergency lights all around the room.

 

"That wasn't in the book though? The book plays in the 18th century, no electricity. Where is this coming from?" Gwen had also stood up, stepping away from all the machines attached to the hospital bed. Mere seconds after, the head of Gwaine's bed crashed down abruptly. The sound reverberated around the room, closely followed by Gwaine's outcry and a loud thump as Arthur fell off the other bed.

 

Merlin rushed across the room. "Arthur?" Arthur was holding his wrist and moaned in pain. Merlin had to physically lift him up to be able to check how hurt he was. It only seemed to be his wrist, but that didn't stop Merlin from turning on Morgana angrily.

 

"Morgana, stop it, for fuck's sake."

 

"Stop what?"

 

"A prank is all fine and jolly, but this isn't a bloody prank anymore. Two people are hurt, isn't that enough?" He glared at her angrily, but she gave back as good as she had.

 

"Jesus Christ, Merlin. This isn't me."

 

"What makes you think it's Morgana?" asked Arthur, carefully holding his wrist.

 

"Actually, he thinks it's both of you," said Gwen sheepishly. She was holding Gwaine's hand, as if that were to help him in anyway, but otherwise didn't pay much attention to his pain and discomfort. The fast throwback had shaken him through and through and his head hurt worse than ever.

 

"What? What makes you think that?" Arthur's eyebrows almost disappeared in his hairline. No one was paying attention to the flickering lights anymore.

 

"Mainly, the fact that you're both way too cool about this."

 

"Cool?" Morgana's voice reached new heights in her surprise. "If I were cool about this, do you honestly think I would have spent an entire night with all four of you in one bed? Hell no."

 

"GUYS!" yelled Gwen and three fuming heads swung around. "Could we perhaps entertain the possibility that this isn't the doing of any of us, but an actual ghost?"

 

Merlin rolled his eyes at her. "There are no ghosts, Gwen!"

 

"Just because your rational mind tells you that it couldn't possibly be true, doesn't mean it really isn't."

 

"Gwen, trust me. There are no ghosts."

 

"Yeah, but it's not us either, Merlin," said Morgana, folding her arms over her chest and popping out her hips. It was her battle position and Merlin knew he'd lose. "Tell me, how am I supposed to have pushed Gwaine over, and paint the TV and do something with the power."

 

"Well, only Arthur was at the light switch. He was the one who said it wasn't working, and obviously we believed him and you doing the rest couldn't have been too difficult."

 

Morgana threw her arms in the air exasperatedly. Arthur held out his hand to calm her and stop her from exploding.

 

"And how am I supposed to have turned off the power in the first place, Merlin?" he said.

 

"I don't know, but there are no ghosts. This has human fingerprint on it." Merlin fell into a chair, deflated and tired.

 

"The flickering stopped," whispered Gwen, as if anything louder could make her friends break out in a fight again.

 

Merlin looked at Arthur. Tiredness was written all over their faces. "Why this book?"

 

"Because it sounded interesting. I didn't pick it out, so I could play a prank on you, I swear."

 

Merlin nodded. "I believe you."

 

The door opened and Lance came in. He came to a stop half-way into the room, sensing the tension within it. He was familiar with the tension of family members trying to stay awake along with a concussed loved one, but this felt different and he was sure he'd just walked into the middle of a major argument.

 

"Everything alright here? What happened to the bed?"

 

Morgana sat down violently, folding her arms and still glaring at Merlin. She wasn't going to forgive him as easily as Arthur. "It fell down," she said dryly.

 

"Gwaine, you alright?"

 

"My head hurts. And I'm sure I'm going to have a bruise on my shoulder, because I fell against this stupid metal thingy on the side here."  

 

Lance walked over to the right side of the bed, squeezing past Gwen who blushed at the contact. He leaned down to inspect the bed, and immediately snapped back up with a cry of pain.

 

"What?"All of them surrounded him and the bed, looking rather anxious. Lance took a step back.

 

"Um, I zapped myself on the frame. You know, electric charge, I'm pretty much fine, guys." The moment he said it, the lights began to flicker again. Gently pushing Gwen out of the way, he stepped up to the lamp to investigate and promptly got zapped again.

 

"What the hell? What did you guys do?"

 

"It's not us," said Gwen. "It's –"

 

"Gwen!" interrupted Merlin sternly.

 

"What?"

 

Merlin simply shook his head. Lance didn't need to know.

 

"Who died and made you God?" asked Morgana, falling into her battle position again. Arthur immediately stepped between them.

 

"Okay, you two, take a break."

 

"You still think it's me, don't you, Merlin? You believe Arthur, but you don't believe me?"

 

"Maybe not."

 

"Stop it, both of you."

  


"Actually, I don't think I want to know. I think I'm just going to leave you guys to it and check back in later. It's 2 a.m. now, I'll see you when the sun comes up." He slowly walked backwards, looking a lot like he didn't even plan to show up when the sun came up. He was almost at the door, when it moved out of its own accord and banged shut. The lights went out seconds afterwards. Merlin felt Arthur's arm go around his shoulder, drawing him in for protection.

 

"Just to make things clear, this is not me!" whispered Morgana.

 

"Gwen, you're squishing my hand. I'm already hurt enough."

 

"Sorry, Gwaine, reflex."

 

"I can't open the door. What the hell is going here?" Lance sounded panicked, rattling on the door handle, but it made no difference. The door remained shut tight.

 

Arthur dug his mobile out of his pocket and the blue electric light filled the room, casting strange shadows all around. Morgana and Merlin imitated him. The shadows grew larger and longer. Arthur moved over to the door, but even with the force of two full-grown men it wouldn't budge.

 

"Hello? Is there someone out there? This isn't funny. Open the door."

 

Arthur gave up. "It's no use. What – what do we do now?" Merlin and Morgana shrugged almost simultaneously and then glared at each other again.

 

"Oh God."

 

"What is it, Gwen?"

 

"There are seven shadows of humans in this room. Look!" She pointed at a spot on the wall that should have been blank. Between the shadows of Lance and Arthur and Merlin and Morgana was another. It didn't move, but the silhouette of a human was clearly discernible.

 

"Seven?"

 

"Yes, seven."

 

"Okay," said Gwaine slowly, pulling Gwen an inch or two closer to him. "Who's the seventh person?"

 

Six people stared at the shadow that belonged to no one. Gwen was carefully lowering her entire body so as to hide behind the bed; her hand still painfully attached to Gwaine's. He very much looked like he wanted to join Gwen in her hiding place. Merlin and Morgana had completely forgotten about their fight and were clinging to each other, never taking their eyes of that unmoving seventh shadow.

 

It took exactly 8 seconds for Gwaine to blurt out the truth. "Okay, now that really isn't me."

 

The light came back on and the door opened so suddenly that it hit Lance in the shoulder. Arthur pulled him with him back into the centre of the room and placed him in a chair, before turning to Gwaine. "What do you mean, that really wasn't you?"

 

While Gwen stood up again, her face showing something between relief and outrage, Merlin and Morgana high-fived each other sat down on the other bed.

 

"Outpranked the pranker!" said Morgana gleefully.

 

"Wait, what?" Arthur was completely lost, looking between his boyfriend and sister and Gwaine.

 

"It was Gwaine all along." – "I called it, right at the beginning." – "So, Morgana and I kind of plotted to get him to admit that it was him," said Merlin, while Morgana nodded, still smiling gleefully.

 

"So this whole fight between you two was fake."

 

"Yeah," they said in unison.

 

"And so is the concussion, I'm guessing?" said Arthur, an angry undertone in his voice.

 

"Um, no, he actually is concussed," said Lancelot, getting up from the chair now. He looked a bit tousled and would probably have bruise on his shoulder for the next few days, but he seemed relatively unsurprised by the whole thing.

 

"He is?"

 

"Yeah, he went a bit too far on that one."

 

"You turned the power off too early, mate. You surprised me," complained Gwaine.

 

Morgana raised her eyebrows. "See, that was what we were unsure about; how you did the thing with the power and the red painting on the TV. It must have been Lance then. Did you rush back to the hospital before we left?" Lance nodded.

 

"The power was Lance, the TV was me. I'm concussed, but I didn't lose consciousness. Question, though, how did you two do that with the door and the shadow?"

 

Merlin and Morgana looked at each other knowingly. "Secret of the trade."

 

"That was impressive," said Lance. "I actually was afraid for a second."

 

"Me too," said Arthur, who cast an accusing look towards his boyfriend.

 

"I hate you all. Except for Arthur, maybe."

 

"Gwen!" Morgana's smile disappeared.

 

"No, you're all dickheads. You knew I hated horror books, and instead of telling me it's Gwaine and letting me in on the secret plan to get back at him, you went ahead and did something even scarier than Gwaine. Which makes you worse than Gwaine actually; and I'm going home. In the car. Now! And whoever wants to come with me, can, but don't you dare talk to me on the way. I'm pissed at all of you. Again, except for you Arthur. Looks like we were both treated like fools."

 

Merlin raised his hands in a calming gesture. "We just wanted to get back at Gwaine."

 

"Yeah, and Gwen and my feelings were collateral damage. Come on, Gwen." Arthur held out his arm and together they left the room with an air of resentment.

 

Morgana turned to her partner in crime, both stunned. Morgana moved to hug Merlin as he wistfully looked at the door through which his angry boyfriend had just stormed off. "They'll come around again. But for what it's worth, you can sleep in my room tonight, if you want."

 

"Thank you. The couch is really uncomfortable. Right, bye Gwaine." Morgana and Merlin linked their pinky fingers together and followed Gwen and Arthur.

 

"GUYS?! WHAT ABOUT MY CONCUSSION?"

 

Lance laughed and put the second bed back into place. "I don't think they care anymore."

 

"Great. That kind of backfired."

 

"Yep."

 

"Can I sleep now?"

 

"No." Lance picked up the TV remote control and threw it at Gwaine's chest. "Watch TV. I'll check back in 20."

 

"Wow, thank you, Lance. You're so nice," said Gwaine sarcastically.

 

"Hey, I drove all the way to your house and back during my break. Don't tell me I'm not nice."

 

"You only did that for the five beers I now owe you."

 

"You never said anything about beer."

 

"I didn't?"

 

"No!"

 

"Oh good."

 

"You did now."

 

And before Gwaine could say anything else, Lance shut the door.


End file.
